After working eight years in agricultural research at the University in Kiel, Germany, Heinke studied biology at the Universities of Konstanz and Oldenburg, Germany. She started working at the Charles Darwin Foundation in 1998, first on the introduced quinine tree (Cinchona pubescens) and then on rare and endangered plant species. After receiving her PhD from Technical University Berlin, Germany, she carried out her postdoctoral research on invasive Galapagos species at Brown University, USA. She is now a senior scientist at CDF and her research is focused on investigating invasive terrestrial plant and animal species and the restoration of the endangered Scalesia forests in Galapagos. This research includes estimating the distribution of these species, vegetation mapping, evaluation of the impacts of invasive species and the impacts of their control on resident species, soil and microclimate, as well as the restoration of invaded ecosystems.